Pakistan dismisses reports of trade with Israel

A spokesperson for Pakistan's Commerce Minister Naveed Qamar on Saturday dismissed reports of trade between Pakistan and Israel as "sheer propaganda."

This statement was made in response to claims made by the American Jewish Congress that a shipment of Pakistani food products had been delivered to Israel by Pakistani-Jewish businessman Fishel Benkhald. Benkhald shared a video on Twitter of the goods he had "exported" to Israel, including dates, dried fruit, and spices.

However, Pakistan's Commerce Minister denies any official trade relations with Israel and has stated that the transaction was not supported by the Pakistani government. Pakistan does not recognize Israel as a state and supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

According to the spokesperson, Benkhald sent the food samples to businessmen in Jerusalem and Haifa in a "personal capacity," with no involvement from the Pakistani government or official channels. The spokesperson also noted that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has recently reduced tariffs on goods traded with Israel, benefiting traders from the UAE to Israel.

The UAE and Israel established diplomatic relations in 2020 under the Abraham Accords, brokered by the Trump administration to normalize relations between Israel and other Middle Eastern states.